Serious
by hostilecrayon
Summary: Gray was a pretty serious kid. That is, until he met Natsu. It was then that things slowly started to change. Gray/Natsu


Title: Serious

Author: hostilecrayon

Pairing: Gray/Natsu

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: 2,186

Warnings: Spoilers for something like up to episode 20 of the anime. Also maybe just a little TWT (Timeline, What Timeline?). Not particularly amazing lemon.

Notes: Time to break into the Fairy Tail fandom! I started a comm, so I thought it was only fair that I write something for it. Thus, written for the grayxnatsu LJ community's prompt of 'New'. If this seems sort of like a character study, or a feeling out of the characters, my apologies. It's the first thing I've ever written for this pairing. I'm not 100% satisfied with it, but I'm much happier putting out something rather than nothing at all.

**Serious**

Gray had been a pretty serious kid. It wasn't surprising, thinking about what Deloria had done to his town in minutes. For Gray, it had felt like several lifetimes had gone by as he sat helpless as everything and everyone around him turned to dust. His thoughts had been about revenge back then.

After Ur died, his thoughts had turned simply to pain. There was no more revenge to be had, and in such a short period of time, he'd lost everything. Twice. Worst of all, he was the one who had led Ur to her death.

When Gray joined Fairy Tail, he'd had very little to laugh about. It was about obligation, not fun. He owed Ur more than he could ever repay, so joining a guild was the only real choice for him.

As time passed, he made some friends. Even still, he was sullen. He had thought that his sins were too great; his burdens too heavy. His life lacked any real passion. He felt as cold as the magic he used.

Until he met Natsu.

Natsu was different. Natsu also had his burdens, but he met each day with a fire that Gray couldn't understand, and it irritated Gray for reasons he couldn't understand.

Without even realizing what he was doing, he'd begun picking fights with the boy. He had to be better, had to be stronger. But more than anything, he wanted to feel something more than the cold.

So mercilessly, he would attack Natsu. He'd challenge him to fights. And much to his chagrin, the boy wouldn't give up. Gray had more stamina than the other kids in the guild - Ur had seen to that in his training. This pink-haired kid shouldn't have stood a chance. But the fire he had throughout his day transferred over into his fights, and he found himself unable to best him.

And so it went. Gray would challenge Natsu at every turn, and the two would come out even. It became normal for the other guild members to find Gray and Natsu in the midst of a heated battle, whether it be with fists or a mental challenge.

Slowly, the fire that was Natsu was melting his heart without him even noticing. It wasn't a sudden thing, but as time marched steadily on, Natsu was warming Gray to the point that things didn't seem so bleak anymore. He didn't start every day thinking about the guilt anymore.

Instead, he thought about Natsu.

It wasn't something Gray let himself dwell on, this strange effect the Dragon Slayer had on him. Instead, he thought about missions and fights and the guild. He couldn't decide if he'd call Natsu a friend, but it was pretty clear that though they fought often, they weren't enemies.

Gray had been a much less serious teenager, thanks to his rivalry with Natsu. When they were apart, some would still say he was a somewhat serious guy, but he wasn't sullen anymore. He wasn't exactly carefree, but he was pleasant enough.

There was something else that marked Gray's teens though, and that was a complete lack of romantic relationships. It also wasn't something Gray thought too much about. He was busy with missions and he just wasn't interested in any of the girls in the guild. He wasn't in a rush. Relationships just made things complicated from what he could see, anyway.

Besides, he had friends now, and that was more than enough for him. And with Natsu, he couldn't get distracted - he had to think fast if he was going to avoid the zealous mage's punches, after all.

It wasn't until he was nearly nineteen that he started to realize some things that he'd been ignoring. There were two instances in particular that really made him stop and think. Both took place on Galuna Island.

The first was when Natsu bodily removed him from the fight. He'd been pissed at the time, but there was no mistaking the fact that he'd been protecting him. The second was when Natsu had stopped him from casting Iced Shell. He'd saved Gray's life. Simply because he didn't want Gray to die.

Somehow, Natsu had seen through it. He knew that Gray was running away, an unnecessary sacrifice, and Natsu was having none of it.

Through all their years of fighting, he'd never realized that Natsu was his best friend. And if he thought about it hard enough, he had to admit that Natsu was more than just his best friend. There were feelings there that he couldn't explain. That he didn't want to explain.

It wasn't until much later that those feelings started to manifest into something a bit more… physical.

It started with dreams. They were vague sort of dreams that left him with flashes of pink hair and heavy breathing. He'd woke with uncomfortably wet boxers on more than one occasion. It didn't take long for dreams to turn to reality, and he'd grudgingly realized that he'd started to feel overheated around the Dragon Slayer in a way that had nothing to do with magic.

He didn't know what to do about it, and so he did nothing.

It was after a mission that things reached a boiling point. Gray and Natsu had gone out alone - a rarity, but not unheard of. They'd finished it up with ease and had found a small inn to spend the night in before catching the morning train, much to Natsu's despair. In all the years Gray had known him, he'd never been able to handle transportation, and it hadn't seemed to get any easier on him as they'd gotten older. Some would even say it was his greatest weakness.

Being alone with Natsu was a little different than when they were with people. There was still that competitive spark there, but it was tempered some by the lack of audience. Or maybe it was the fact that Gray himself didn't fight against him so hard when they were alone. It wasn't something he wanted to think about too hard.

Instead of fighting, they were talking. Nothing important, just some comments about the mission, a little bit of talk about the guild. Natsu was as nonchalant as he always was when he wasn't fighting.

As talk turned to friends, Gray suddenly blurted out, "You know you're my best friend, right?"

As soon as he'd said it, he wanted to bite his tongue. Where had it come from? His heart was still in his chest as Natsu stared at him, slack-jawed, before smiling wide. "Of course we're best friends, you idiot."

It said something about Gray's mental state that he let the comment slide.

They were sitting up in their futons, Gray in his usual state of undress and Natsu wearing what he always did, even when he slept. Gray wondered how the pink-haired boy could be comfortable sleeping in a scarf even as his hand had reached across the small gap between their futons.

It was a surreal moment; Gray reaching for Natsu out of instinct, Natsu still smiling that genuine smile of his without even noticing. Gray didn't remember moving forward, but then they were kissing, and god, Natsu was kissing him back, and it was hot and wet and _new_. A heat radiated off of Natsu's skin just as Gray's had a chill feel to it - a side effect of their magic. So for Gray, every touch was that much warmer to him; a fire on an icy day.

Then Gray was sitting back, eyes downcast and an apology on heated lips because he'd just… oh god, he'd just _kissed_ Natsu. _Natsu. _Mentally, he braced for the impact he was sure would come.

Natsu's hand did touch his face, but not out of anger. It was a touch that urged him to look up, and when their dark eyes met, there was so much emotion there it was all Gray could do to not look away again.

There was some confusion there, but it was small in the face of what could only be described as longing. That was as far as Gray got in deciphering that look in Natsu's eyes, as he wasn't one to hesitate, and Gray was pulled to the Dragon Slayer with more force than was necessary. Whether it was a sign of his impatience or a lack of experience, Gray didn't know, but Natsu's hands were burning trails along his back and his fangs were nipping just a bit too hard at his lips, demanding they open for him.

What could Gray do? He gave him access. He'd been the initiator in this, after all.

Their kisses were all lips and tongue and teeth. There wasn't even a hint of the gentleness of their first as Natsu leaned back, bringing Gray down with him to sprawl out over top of him. Natsu's body was almost too hot to bear, but if he were any judge, he wasn't the only one effected. The Fire Dragon shivered beneath him.

Gray was already nearly naked, and his deft fingers were quick to put Natsu in a similar state. He could feel Natsu's erection against his through their boxers, and it was like nothing he'd ever felt before. Natsu, never one to hesitate, let out something that was halfway between a groan and a growl, his less than nimble fingers pulling at the last article of clothing Gray was wearing.

Somewhere in Gray's mind, he thought that maybe they were moving a little fast, but the rest of him just didn't care as it finished the job Natsu had started.

And then they were wearing nothing but their Fairy Tail tattoos.

Gray's fingers explored Natsu's flesh, much of it he'd touched during their many fights, but this was different. He could feel every muscle coiled up under too hot skin. His fingers lingered on scars, many of which he'd been a witness to when they'd happened. Natsu's hands weren't idle either, and they spent a good while making out. It wasn't until Natsu's hands ventured low enough to grab Gray's ass that Gray found the courage to take things a little further.

Natsu's head flew back as Gray's cool fingers wrapped around his cock, his cheeks colored with a dark flush. The sight was almost too much for Gray, his own erection throbbing painfully.

Gray couldn't think, he could only react to the noises Natsu was making. With one swift movement, Gray leaned down and took the head of Natsu's penis into his mouth, cooling the smoldering flesh with his tongue. Nails dug deep into the flesh on his shoulders, a broken "Gr…ay…" said so softly, he almost missed it.

Gray almost came from that alone.

Throwing caution to the wind, he licked his fingers and pressed one to Natsu's opening in askance. A deep, guttural growl urged him on, slipping a cold finger into that tight heat, exploring the Dragon Slayer's most private of places in earnest. Natsu cried out, and Gray rose to kiss a trail up his stomach, stopping to nip at pert nipples before kissing the writhing boy beneath him.

He pulled his fingers from him and positioned himself to penetrate Natsu with his erection, but before he could move, Natsu's legs wrapped around him and pulled him inside with one clean motion. Gray cried out, and he knew he wouldn't last long.

It was only a matter of seconds before they were moving against each other, engaged in a dance as old as time. Sweat turned to ice on Gray's skin, then melted again in the face of the inferno that was Fairy Tail's Salamander.

Natsu's hands moved up Gray's neck and into his hair, clutching tightly as his cum splattered against Gray's stomach, lightly burning the skin there. That was all it took to send Gray tumbling over the edge after Natsu, stuttering out the pink-haired mage's name in his release. He had never cum so hard in his life.

Gray collapsed, his body having to work to keep itself cool in the face of Natsu's heat. The Salamander was still running his hands over Gray's body, and Gray turned his head to capture Natsu's lips in a lazy kiss.

"I love you," Gray blurted out, not even realizing the truth of it until he'd said it.

He felt more than saw the smile on Natsu's face, feeling the soft puff of his hot breath as he chuckled. "No shit." He paused, biting at Gray's ear. "I love you, too, moron."

That time, Gray didn't let it slide, smashing a pillow into Natsu's face. "What was that for?" he roared. Despite being naked, Natsu was on his feet instantly to launch his counter attack, though the grin on his face belied the angry tone he was going for. Gray couldn't quite dodge in time, and fell backwards, clutching at the pillow to get a good grip on it.

Chucking the pillow at his target, Gray thought that he wasn't such a serious guy anymore.

How could he ever be sullen with Natsu around?


End file.
